Business programmes
Engaged female leaders at all levels who fully ‘show up’, lead powerfully and successfully manage others and their careers
Gender equality is one of the founding values of She does it and a personal passion. I love supporting women in creating the work life they aspire to and working with businesses to build a work place where both women and men can flourish.
The business case for gender diversity is clear. Companies perform better through a variety of leadership styles, a higher level of creativity and innovation and better investment decisions. They become a more desirable place to work for both men and women. Furthermore, by increasing female role models, companies attract more and better female talent – it’s a virtuous circle that powers your business.
Organisations, often mandated by government legislation, are now setting aspirational goals for the proportion of women in leadership roles. That’s an important step because having more role models will encourage women to make different career choices. And it will lead to greater advocacy for women.
Barriers
Unfortunately, research still shows that it’s harder to make steps on the career ladder for women than for men due to, mainly, invisible barriers:
- Subtle systematic biases, like:
– The stereotype of a leader: a white man in a blue suit.
– The double bind: assertive and self-confident women are viewed competent but less likeable than their male counterparts. And female leaders who have a feminine style may be liked but are less respected.
– The motherhood penalty: when a female professional becomes a mother, she is perceived as warmer but less competent than before. Men don’t make this trade. When they become fathers, they gain perceived warmth and maintain perceived competence.
- The context in which networks (meetings and social events) take place.
- The stigmatisation of flexible working.
Systemic change
If we want organisations that work for everyone, with a higher level of engagement, creativity and innovation, we have to get to the root of what causes the gender inequality in the workplace: fix the system (and not the women).
For example, start listening so that you learn about the invisible barriers women experience. What don’t I know? What do I not see? What are you experiencing? What ideas for improvement do you have? Etc.
There are no silver bullets, nor are there off-the-shelf solutions, that can be applied to all organisations. It’s a complex web of systemic, cultural and structural issues to overcome.
The INSEAD Gender Diversity Programme and the hundreds of coaching hours with women in different organisations have provided me with the understanding, concepts and tools that enable me to diagnose the key blockers women face in organisations and to develop a tailored plan of interventions that work.
Curious which game changing interventions you can apply?
Contact me for more information.
Authentic leadership
Coaching programmes are an important and powerful self-affirmation intervention. They give female talents the fortitude to step outside their comfort zone and experiment with new behaviours.
They result in greater self-awareness and confidence. With their authentic leadership style women elevate their impact. They are role models for other female talents, which positively impacts the gender diversity ambitions and elevates the company as a whole.
